U.S. Image Plummets Internationally

Speedwell · Nov 3, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
High School insecurities about what other people think are not conducive to wise leadership. The foreign policy of the US should never be based upon a juvenile fear of ridicule from others that do not have your own best interests as their guide.

It's not juvenile fear of ridicule. It effects how other nations will respond to our policies. If your neighbor ridicules you it does you no harm, but if his opinion of you effects his actions, his response toward your actions it may well do you harm.

rambot · Nov 3, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
Having allies may well be in the interest of countries or it may not be

Sorry. That statement is just desperately silly:
"Having friends may be in a persons best interest but it may not be". pfffft.

but bankrolling the defense of a group of other countries is simply idiotic. Nonetheless whether I am correct about wise and moral foreign policy or you are the image that some foreign national has of the US is totally irrelevant.

Look guy.

NOBODY asked America to spend more than the next 12 countries combined on defence. NObody asked for that. Frankly, I don't even understand why American citizens stand for that utterly ludicrous amount.

Likely, nobody even really wanted that. So instead of pooping on Europe, ask yourself whether your tax dollars were best spend on your military industrial complex? Perhaps you should ask what your military industrial complex is getting out of that? What is America getting out of those bases in europe?
And if you're getting nothing out of it, pull out. I'm curious about what my cousins in the Netherlands would say about that. I'm not convinced they would care very much.

Triumvirate · Nov 4, 2020

Russia's still faffing about in Eastern Europe, and is still potentially interested in a lot more, in terms of countries it used to control.

If you think the expansion of Russian influence globally won't cause greater problems for the US, then perhaps I can interest you in the sale of these seven magic beans

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

Speedwell said:
It's not juvenile fear of ridicule. It effects how other nations will respond to our policies. If your neighbor ridicules you it does you no harm, but if his opinion of you effects his actions, his response toward your actions it may well do you harm.

If your neighbor has the habit of mooching off you that probably is more harmful to you than his ridicule of you for not continuing to be his sugar daddy. .

Triumvirate · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
If your neighbor has the habit of mooching off you that probably is more harmful to you than his ridicule of you for not continuing to be his sugar daddy. .

Pretty poor analogy, given that sugar daddies are also benefitting from that arrangement.

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

rambot said:
Sorry. That statement is just desperately silly:
"Having friends may be in a persons best interest but it may not be". pfffft.

Look guy.

NOBODY asked America to spend more than the next 12 countries combined on defence. NObody asked for that. Frankly, I don't even understand why American citizens stand for that utterly ludicrous amount.

Likely, nobody even really wanted that. So instead of pooping on Europe, ask yourself whether your tax dollars were best spend on your military industrial complex? Perhaps you should ask what your military industrial complex is getting out of that? What is America getting out of those bases in europe?
And if you're getting nothing out of it, pull out. I'm curious about what my cousins in the Netherlands would say about that. I'm not convinced they would care very much.

You have mistaken ally for friend. Allies are not necessarily friends nor should one assume they are if one wishes to survive. Germany and the USSR were allies at the start of WWII. I don't know if you ever heard the old maxim "With friends like that one doesn't need enemies.".

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

Triumvirate said:
Pretty poor analogy, given that sugar daddies are also benefitting from that arrangement.

I don't believe most hosts benefit from having parasites.

Triumvirate · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
I don't believe most hosts benefit from having parasites.

Happy to go back to the selling you bridges or magic beans analogies. Both fit here.

Speedwell · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
I don't believe most hosts benefit from having parasites.

Like the US and Israel. If we're going to cut off our mooching 'allies' that would be the place to start.

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

Triumvirate said:
Happy to go back to the selling you bridges or magic beans analogies. Both fit here.

Yes anyone that thinks that the US is benefitting from bankrupting itself to police the world is selling magic beans.

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

Speedwell said:
Like the US and Israel. If we're going to cut off our mooching 'allies' that would be the place to start.

Start with Europe then Asia. Israel aid is a drop in the bucket compared to Europe. Bankrolling both sides in the Middle East is truly stupid.

Speedwell · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
Start with Europe then Asia. Israel aid is a drop in the bucket compared to Europe. Bankrolling both sides in the Middle East is truly stupid.

Well, all foreign aid is a "drop in the bucket" being about 1% of the federal budget in total. But about a third of that total goes to Israel.

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

Speedwell said:
Well, all foreign aid is a "drop in the bucket" being about 1% of the federal budget in total. But about a third of that total goes to Israel.

The budget line is misleading as the military budget is in many respects filled with foreign aid that is not recognized as such on a budget line.

Speedwell · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
The budget line is misleading as the military budget is in many respects filled with foreign aid that is not recognized as such on a budget line.

And Israel comes out ahead there, too.

rambot · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
You have mistaken ally for friend. Allies are not necessarily friends nor should one assume they are if one wishes to survive. Germany and the USSR were allies at the start of WWII. I don't know if you ever heard the old maxim "With friends like that one doesn't need enemies.".

I'm insulted that feel comfortable implying that the relationship between Germany and the USSR is in any way comparable to the us and Canada.

grasping the after wind · Nov 4, 2020

rambot said:
I'm insulted that feel comfortable implying that the relationship between Germany and the USSR is in any way comparable to the us and Canada.

Why would you make such a comparison? I surely did not. I gave an example of allies that were not friends. I never mentioned Canada at all. Do you believe that Canada and the US are not friendly to each other? They aren't about to divvy up Poland between them any time soon I wager. I do think it is quite rude for some Canadians to litter our shopping plaza parking lots with old clothes they have discarded so they won't have to claim purchases at the border and pay the astronomical VAT but that is hardly something I would consider a thing to be enemies over. Covid has at least been quite beneficial for the cleanliness of our parking lots over the course of the past several months. I'm sure the retailers would prefer the mess and the additional dollars. I wonder if VAT receipts are up in the border towns?

rambot · Nov 4, 2020

grasping the after wind said:
Why would you make such a comparison? I surely did not. I gave an example of allies that were not friends. I never mentioned Canada at all. Do you believe that Canada and the US are not friendly to each other?

I believe Trump has been disrespectful to us yes.

U.S. Image Plummets Internationally

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